Pillar Search & HR Consulting and Cooperative for Human Services are pleased to announce the appointment of Jessica (Jess) Almeida as Vice President of Programs. Jess joined Cooperative for Human Services on July 27, 2026.
Jess is an experienced nonprofit leader in the human service field with a passion for improving the lives of individuals with disabilities. She shared that, “The Cooperative for Human Services mission of providing services that support community inclusion, personal enrichment and quality of life speaks to my passions for supporting people with disabilities to pursue their goals and live life to the fullest in their communities”.
Jes has devoted her career to serving and advocating for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She joins Cooperative from Bridgewell, where she served as their Vice President of Day Habilitation and Community Engagement. Prior to that, she was the Senior Program Director at Vinfen. She began her tenure at Vinfen as the Day Services Program Director. Earlier in her career, Jess worked at BAMSI and Perkins School for the Blind.
Jess holds an MBA with a focus on nonprofit management from Springfield College and a bachelor’s degree in Secondary English Education from Lesley University. She also has a certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis from UMASS Boston. Jess has been actively engaged as both an athlete and volunteer with Boston Roller Derby.
About Cooperative for Human Services: Founded in 1981 with headquarters in Lexington, MA, the Cooperative for Human Services Inc. (CHS) is a multi-service organization that provides residential services, independent living support, and guardianship services for people with intellectual and other related disabilities. Their mission is to empower, support, and expand the knowledge, skill, and natural capacities of the people they serve to direct and live full and meaningful lives within their community.
CHS has a mission to fulfill – to ensure that every person with special needs served by them lives a truly happy and fulfilling life and is a respected citizen of the community.
Learn more about this amazing organization at https://cooperativeforhs.org.
About Pillar Search & HR Consulting: A woman-owned business based in Boston, Pillar Search & HR Consulting provides executive search/recruiting and human resources consulting expertise to nonprofit and mission-driven organizations nationwide, working with senior leaders and the boards of directors to hire and develop the very best talent across all functional areas of the organization. For more information about Pillar, please visit About Pillar Search & HR Consulting – Pillar Search
